Despite recovering from yet another set of surgeries, Livingston County resident continues to show resilience and grace while he works to help others.
Larry Prout Jr. of Marion Township has endured more than 100 surgeries since he was born in 2001 with spina bifida and other medical conditions, including club feet. The most recent surgery, number 109 to be exact, was on his feet in order to maintain mobility.
Through the years, he’s become a hometown hero for his indomitable spirit and relentless enthusiasm, which inspired Team Impact to make him an official member of the UM Wolverine football team in 2016.
In a recent update to his Larry Prout Jr Courage Fund website, Prout said his recovery overall is going well, although there have been some complications. But he also used the post to say that two fundraisers last month, a Facebook birthday fundraiser and a huge annual garage sale, along with a grant from the Stein Family Foundation, and Wolverine Alumni and current Cleveland Brown, Donovan Peoples-Jones’ Limitless Foundation, raised over $22,000 to help kids and their families at Mott Children’s Hospital in Ann Arbor.
Prout also said that the fund had recently assisted their first family, that of a 15 year old girl who is battling cancer.
Prout says there are many reasons why he and his family started the nonprofit fund.
“The first is, with 6 children, and both me and Dad having serious medical conditions, we were always lucky to have help from family, friends and even strangers,” said Prout. “Things were always very hard, and we couldn’t have survived without this help. We want to help facilitate help for families like we have been helped. My team at Mott Hospital; the doctors, nurses, child life, social workers and therapists and all the medical staff help me to stay alive and live a full life. I am so grateful to them, that I want to give back to other patients at Mott.”
Prout says the nonprofit team has a goal of raising $50,000 by the end of this year, and every year, to help patients and families at Mott.
